Mateus 4

Mateus 4

Utley writes beyond the Jordan is an "idiom usually referred to the east side of the Jordan (the transjordan) but here it referred to the west (the promised land)." GALILEE OF THE GENTILES - In Hebrew Galil ha goyim. (Galil means "circle"). It was a "circuit" or "district of the Gentiles," a district filled with Gentiles! And so this phrase comes from the fact that this region was a mixture of Jews and Gentiles with a majority being Gentiles, which of course was looked down upon by the Jews of Judea. Gentiles resided especially in the eastern part of the province and to the east of the Jordan, in the area called the Decapolis. Utley makes an interesting observation that "The land of Zebulun and Naphtali were the first to fall to the Assyrian invaders and the first to hear the good news." R T France adds that "Galilee of the Gentiles was now an even more appropriate description than in Isaiah’s day, as successive movements of population had given it a predominately Gentile population until a deliberate Judaizing policy was adopted by the Hasmonaean rulers, resulting in a thoroughly mixed population.” Allen Ross - God humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future he will honor them (Isaiah’s reference jumps 700 years to the coming of Jesus). The humbling refers to the punishment for sin--this gloom and darkness; the honoring refers to the dawning of a great light in their region, rather than in the holy city of Jerusalem. The light would be far more effective shining in the darkness and despair of Galilee, than on the self-righteous leaders of the land in Jerusalem. And so it would begin in Galilee of the Gentiles. Judgment from the Assyrians had first begun there; the preaching of the Messiah would therefore begin there, calling the people to repent. Isaiah 9, of course, goes on to explain who this great light is--it is the Son who is given, the child who is born, the one whose name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6-7+). It is the Messiah, the Great Light to the Nations. And Matthew says this passage from Isaiah began to be fulfilled in the public ministry of Jesus the Messiah in and around Capernaum, at the heart of the Galilean region. By light Isaiah meant salvation in the coming of the Messiah, including the proclamation of that salvation. When Jesus preached, a light began to shine in the darkness to uncover their sin (repent) and show them the way (the kingdom is at hand). And many responded to the light, and believed in him, including most of his disciples. He is the great light that shines in the darkness and the gloom, offering salvation to the sinner who will repent. (Devotional) John